The S&P/TSX composite index ran ahead 153.71 points to 13,713.4, as BCE beat earnings estimates, upped its dividend and posted a positive outlook, sending its shares two per cent higher.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.08 of a cent to 90.33 cents US.

The Dow Jones industrials jumped 188.3 points to 15,628.53 as jobless insurance claims, viewed as a proxy for layoffs, fell by a greater than expected 20,000 to 331,000 last week.

The data came out a day before the release of the U.S. government's employment report for January. Economists expect that 183,000 jobs were created following a meagre 74,000 gain in December that was largely blamed on the weather.